We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method

Publisher's Summary

Economists insist that recovery is at hand, yet unemployment remains high, real estate values continue to sink, and governments stagger under record deficits. The End of Growth proposes a startling diagnosis: humanity has reached a fundamental turning point in its economic history. The expansionary trajectory of industrial civilization is colliding with non-negotiable natural limits.
Richard Heinberg’s latest landmark work goes to the heart of the ongoing financial crisis, explaining how and why it occurred, and what we must do to avert the worst potential outcomes. Written in an engaging, highly readable style, it shows why growth is being blocked by three factors:

Resource depletion
Environmental impacts
Crushing levels of debt
These converging limits will force us to re-evaluate cherished economic theories and to reinvent money and commerce. The End of Growth describes what policy makers, communities, and families can do to build a new economy that operates within Earth’s budget of energy and resources. We can thrive during the transition if we set goals that promote human and environmental well-being, rather than continuing to pursue the now-unattainable prize of ever-expanding GDP.

See More Like This

People who bought this also bought...

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful

5 out of 5 stars
By
Margaret
on
12-14-13

Humanomics

Economics for real people in our turbulent times. Scary, but rings true, the book describes how our unsustainable use of natural resources is setting us up for some very difficult times. Heinberg does include some interesting alternative options that are currently being tried in different parts of the world. We certainly do need to change our paradigm to one that better harnesses our human strengths and weaknesses.Informative and well written.

Big Questions Discussed

What did you love best about The End of Growth?

It asks challenging and thought provoking questions that deal with the very future of mankind. It delivers an historical context that suggests that there is another way for humans to gladly live beside one another

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Community interdependence and how our mercantilist system destroys the very fabric of harmonious co-existence

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful

4 out of 5 stars
By
Jason
on
02-07-14

Riveting and compelling

What did you like most about The End of Growth?

Heinberg's systematic approach to deconstructing the current world economy into understandable concepts and then linking the components into values that respond to energy use, proving why the status quo is unsustainable, and simply cannot, CANNOT - due to the laws of physics, continue on the trajectory it has been following. He also explains why attempts to restart the economies of Europe and America are proving so difficult, and what the future holds for the tiger economies of China and India. Not only does he show how the system simply HAS to crash, but he devotes two chapters at the end of the book to visioning a new possible world economy.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The End of Growth?

For me, the way in which Heinberg made the compelling connection between energy use and money was a real 'aha' moment for me. When one looks at the relationship between energy, particularly cheap energy, and what it gave us as a species, and then understand what the end of access to that cheap energy means, the pieces all start to make sense.

Who might you have cast as narrator instead of Paul Boehmer?

Ideally, it would have been nice to have had Richard narrate it himself. He has a good speaking voice. Boehmer was not abysmal, but frequently sounded like a talking clock. Someone with a less monotonous voice and rhythm would have been nice.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Realizing that my pension is probably going to be worthless when I really want to start using it came as a bit of a blow. I am now lying awake at night wondering how best to adapt to that scenario. Buy gold? Buy a farm? Stock up on tins of tuna and move to the mountains?

Any additional comments?

A fantastic book. I would love to have more of Heinberg's work available in audio format.

A must read for anyone who deems to be intelligent

A well argued book that states the obvious if we would only but look. We live on a finite little pale blue dot that cannot sustain the economic madness of continued growth. The author is painstaking in his detail and no one who reads this book if you dare will fail to be influenced by it.